Encountering You
by kurgaya
Summary: Set in the world of Pokemon/slight Pokemon xover - Pre-IchiHitsu - 10 times to say "I love you" - Encounters!verse


**Note:** Most important thing first: Happy Birthday Toshirokun13! I hope you have a wonderful day :D This is my birthday gift for you - I hope you very much enjoy it.

Now that the celebrations are out of the way, there's a little bit of explaining to do... This is, obviously, a Bleach/Pokemon xover, but I don't think you really need to know much about either to get the gist of this story. Saying that, if you're played either Pokemon Black or White then you'll be able to picture the Pokemon and the locations, because I haven't gone out of my way to explain what they look like - apologies.

This is sort of pre-IchiHitsu, so there won't be much romantic action between them. And anyway, I tried to make this as light-hearted as possible; sorry for any OOC-ness.

I think that's all that needs to be said, so have a happy birthday Shiro, and I hope you all like this little piece of randomness~

(Oh, by the way, the quotes at the beginning of each section weren't made up by me - they're from Bulbapedia)

* * *

><p><strong>Encountering You<strong>

_(10 times to say 'I love you')_

* * *

><p><strong>10. Striaton City - <em>"Three Stand Together as One!"<em>**

The first time they met, Ichigo was being harassed by a scientist, and Tōshirō had not been amused. Ichigo's journey into the Pokemon world had only just begun, but before he was even 'allowed' to attempt his first Gym battle, one of his deceased mother's best friends, Professor Unohana, had asked him very kindly to drop something off to a 'Miss Nemu' in Striaton City.

Being the gentleman he was, Ichigo had hit the road with the promise to do so, his shoulders weighed down with adventure, nerves, and now a pink butterfly-painted ring-binder that had past the 'full-to-the-brim' stage at least two hundred pages ago. But he hadn't complained about that, the profanities that he_ would_ have used were instead cursed under his breath at the pathetic _useless piece of_ -

Eh-hem.

His first Pokemon, that is.

Audino had selective hearing, so he didn't have to worry about her noticing him cursing her six ways to Sunday. Thank god.

Admittedly, Striaton City hadn't been as big as he had expected, nor had it been as big as he hoped, for that matter, for now there was no way to escape his Audino's _obsession_ with him, and after popping to the Pokemon Centre and asking for directions, Nemu's lab had been easily found.

It was on the second floor of somebody's house. Who would put a _lab_ on the second floor of _somebody's house_? Didn't the neighbours ever worry about the strange noises? Didn't they mind Frankenstein walking into their living room during the middle of the night? No? _No_?

The mental image of Frankenstein stopped him half way up the stairs, and he bit his lip, suddenly very afraid of what this 'Miss Nemu' might actually be like.

She can't be that bad, he told himself after ignoring the confused stares the old man who lived on the first floor gave him. After all, she was one of his mum's friends, and Masaki Kurosaki had not been a creepy person while she was living...

(At least, that's what his father had always said...)

His little sister Karin would be laughing at his cowardice right about now. Yuzu would tell him that everything's okay, and then proceed to hit him with her spatula.

Ichigo sighed and took a deep breath, clambering up the last of the stairs and knocking on the door at the top. _He was a big boy now._ Half a minute of silence told him that there would be no answer, so he tried the golden door handle; the door slipped open without the ominous creek you would expect, and he poked his orange mop of hair inside -

"Aha!" cried a voice from deep inside the room, and Ichigo jumped in surprise so badly that he stumbled over his own two feet in an attempt to escape and fell into the lab, crushing his nose against the floor. A soft padding of feet hurried over, but help was not what Ichigo got. "What are you doing barging into a room_ uninvited_?"

Rolling over groaning, the face hovering above him was sickly white and most certainly male, and the sixteen year old wondered if the fall had knocked him silly - there was no way 'Miss Nemu' would be this ugly -

"My god you're a freak," he gasped, blinking the intense ceiling light away.

The solid wooden object that came smashing down onto his face came as a surprise.

"Sir!" cried another voice, this one very thankfully female, and most likely belonging to his mother's friend. Not that Ichigo really bothered to think about it, hands covering his throbbing nose and collecting the warm blood that spilled down his face.

"Oh shut it Nemu, go back to what you were doing, I'll deal with this little rat."

A flurry of motion followed those words, and the beginner trainer found himself hoisted to his feet by a pair of small cold hands. He was led across a red room, not that it was meant to be red, he supposed, tripping over his _red_ feet and almost falling, once again, onto the plush _red_ carpet.

Was there blood in his eyes?

"Stop groaning," snapped a third voice, the icy sharpness of it drowning out the arguing voices in the background. "And sit down on the sofa; let me see the damage."

Ichigo pulled his hands away from his broken face, hissing when a bony finger prodded his nose.

The third voice tutted, and the ginger could just make out a bright pair of teal eyes rolling in irritation. "Broken," the person clipped, because Ichigo couldn't make out if it was a boy or a girl. "Honestly."

"Whab youb do bath bor?" was his slurry response, sounding silly before he even said it aloud. "Ab ib's nob my faulb!"

There was a '**crash**' somewhere else in the lab, but Ichigo paid no mind, watching his bratty rescuer wander over to the door he had come in from, not entirely in the right state of mind - if Ichigo_ had_ been right in the head at that moment in time, he would have noticed that it was the stranger's ass he was staring at and not his unamused face as he turned to face him; "Stay put, don't move, don't piss off anybody, I'll be right back."

Ichigo laughed, or at least tried to, but only because he didn't realize that those words were going to become quite a common phrase spoke between them from then on.

* * *

><p><strong>9. Nacrene City - <em>"A Pearl of a Place"<em>**

By the time he was ready to fight for his second Gym badge, his nose was better and he had acquired another two Pokemon to his team; both were miracles in themselves really.

Blitzle was a lovely addition to his team - strong, brave, charming, and, most importantly, _male_.

Munna on the other hand... Well. She and Audino got along brilliantly, at least; it didn't take them long to discover that they shared a common interest;

(You've got three guesses to find out what it is, but the first two don't count)

Ichigo honestly took pride in the fact that he was from a family of healers, and he understood the need for medical knowledge, but _why_ did his first two Pokémon have to be pink, female, and _all over him_? Why couldn't they go flutter their eyelids at each other? Lesbians he could live with.

On that rather disturbing thought, Ichigo began to wonder which of the two, Audino or Munna, would be 'on top' in that relationship – after a moment's consideration he guessed it would be Munna, having the advantage of being able to float around and so being able to take charge from all angles.

Blitzle made a funny noise from beside him and Ichigo flushed, refusing to look the frowning electric Pokemon in the eye to save himself from the embarrassment that would surely come with pairing his Pokémon together.

Ishida would be sighing disapprovingly, he was sure, and Inoue would probably love the idea - she came up with the strangest meals, why stop at food?

Sat on one of the shaking white fences on Route 3, Ichigo wondered how his friends were doing. Ishida was probably at the Pokemon League already, the smart ass, waiting for him to turn up so that he could gloat, and Inoue -

No, wait, he had seen her not long ago. Yesterday was it? The day before? Shaking his sunny hair, Ichigo decided that he couldn't remember. She had been talking with a young sobbing girl - so, okay, she wasn't really talking then, more like cooing like a mother - and (oh yeah, he remembered now) a Pokemon had been stolen by a bunch of weirdos in some stupid space costumes.

But that problem had been sorted out quickly enough - Blitzle had shown those morons who was in charge.

Charge - electricity, get it?

A wet nose pressed up against his thigh, and Ichigo reached a hand down to pat the black and white Pokemon on the head. "Thanks buddy," he said to his concerned companion. "I'm glad you're looking after me."

Blitzle huffed to the best to his ability, stamping the ground to try and tell his trainer something.

Ichigo, not quite as dense as he looked, must have gotten the message, for he jumped down from the fence and unclipped Blitzle's pokeball from his belt. "You wanna go challenge the Leader, right?" he asked the watching Pokemon, and when it nodded Ichigo smiled, returning him to his pokeball.

That was that then. He hoped the Gym Leader wasn't going to be too tough.

Yet he didn't quite make it to the Gym, but that was no fault of his own. The grand castle-like museum hiding amongst the trees was almost within reach when the oak double doors slammed open and a fleeing group of men in stupid space costumes bolted past him, at least four of them carrying what appeared to be a giant skull. Ichigo turned to stare at the dust in their wake, wondering what the hell was going on, and why those strange people kept propping up -

"Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

Spinning back around to face the towering museum, Ichigo knew he could recognise that ass anywhere.

"Err, Tōshirō , right?" he asked hesitantly as the short teenager strode lazily towards him, hands in black cargo pockets and feet kicking up loose stones in the pavement. Tōshirō gave a small nod upon arriving next to him, and looked up with sharp eyes at the orange haired trainer. "Your Gym battle is going to have to wait," he said simply, and Ichigo felt his eyebrows rose. "Some goons just stole something and the Leader's pissed - which way did they go?"

Ichigo pointed in the direction of Pinwheel Forest and said innocently, "Was I meant to stop them?"

Tōshirō took a moment to reply, rummaging through his small shoulder bag in search of something. "No need," he said dully. "I'll take care of it - don't want to tire out your Pokemon before a battle after all."

The tone in which he said this made Ichigo bristle at the underlying message being spoken. But, he was polite, most of the time, and stood silently as the other trainer enlarged a pokeball and throw it up into the sky. There was a flash of light, a gasp from bystanders nearby, and a giant blue and red bird took flight above their heads.

"Braviary," Tōshirō commanded to the waiting Pokemon with a tone so dripped in authority that Ichigo's mouth fell open. "Try not to break the skull."

The Pokemon ruffled it's shining feathers as if trying to prove a point, before soaring towards the forest, leaving two windswept teenagers in it's wake.

* * *

><p><strong>8. Castelia City - <em>"A City of Grandeur"<em>**

Ichigo hoped that one day he would be able to ride on a boat as grande as the Royal Unova.

Not that he could really call the giant cruise ship a 'boat', but it sailed through the waters of Unova and so he was happy with calling it one.

It was dusk in Castelia City, the street-lamps lining the edge of the dock were the only light to guide him down the concrete walkway, and Ichigo found that he rather liked the sound of the sea drowning out the bustle of the working people and the cars buried deep inside the skyscraper labyrinth. It was a new experience for him, having never been to the sea before, but, leaning on the cold rail at the end of the dock, Ichigo knew he wasn't going to be taking a night-time dip any time soon.

Not since his mother -

No. He wasn't going to think about that. There was a whole world ahead of him, he had no time to dwell on the unfortunate past.

There were only three other people milling around Cruise Dock with him, a small figure sat on one of the benches, shadowed in the dark, and a young couple in the depths of love if the giggling and mushy talk wasn't any sort of clue, and Ichigo smiled, turning away to give them some privacy. That was the problem with Pokemon journeys - no, not the lack of privacy - but the loneliness that came with it. Okay, he had Audino, Munna, and Bliztle to keep him company but they were Pokemon; as lovely as they were, most of the time anyway, he needed a _human_ companion.

And where exactly was he going to find one? He _could_ go and find either Ishida or Inoue, or maybe even Chad, but he wasn't interested in battling Gym Leaders, and Ishida was a ponce and Inoue was... well.

A human version of Audino?

_Good god_.

He barked a laugh that would have sounded strange if he had been heard - a sudden wave had risen up and drenched him and the whole area within a half metre radius of where he was standing, and his smile dropped into a frown.

"Fuck _dammit_!" he yelled, jumping back from the rail far too late and slipping on the wet floor.

The red-headed man didn't arrive quick enough to catch him from hitting the ground, but he did help Ichigo back onto his feet and patted him down. "I'm alright, really," Ichigo said honestly, having had a nastier fall just a week or two ago, waving the tattooed man away as the female half of the pair wandered over. "But thanks anyway."

The man ran his eyes up and down Ichigo's body in a way that would have made the ginger uncomfortable if it had been any other situation. When he seemed happy that Ichigo was indeed fine, he broke out into a healthy grin and said, "Got a bit of bad luck, hey strawberry?"

The petite dark haired woman tutted at her boyfriend's words, and Ichigo almost blew a fuse. "Strawberry? Who you calling 'strawberry', pineapple head?"

That was a pretty good response if he could say so himself, and the stranger's face lit up to match his hair.

"Pineapple head! You've got some nerve kid."

"Well you started it!"

"I helped you up!"

"And you _still_ started it! And I've already said 'thank you' so what more could you possibly want?"

The feral grin was back on the man's face, and he indicated over his shoulder towards the city. "It ain't nice to keep ya boyfriend waiting, you know. But I suggest you dry yourself off first, berry head."

Ichigo ignored that last comment about his hair, too busy spluttering over the mix up about his boyfriend - he didn't even have a boyfriend! He wasn't interested in relationships! Bloody hell, he didn't even think he was interested in men!

The man laughed and patted him on the shoulder, pushing him slightly in the direction of the fourth and final person on the dock. "He ain't yours?" he questioned with amusement, nevertheless still encouraging Ichigo to go over there. "Funny, he keeps looking this way."

So now he had a stalker! Was it one of those weirdos in space suits? Fuck, was it his dad - ?

Once glance across the dock told Ichigo all he needed to know, but he didn't express his shock at the suddenly empty bench like 'pineapple head' did, the clues laid out before him telling him who exactly had been sitting there, and why they had vanished into thin air before being spotted.

* * *

><p><strong>7. Nimbasa City - <em>"Lit by the Flash of Lightning!"<em>**

"It's your Sandile, why should I get him back?"

Ichigo scowled at the accusing gaze he could see out of the corner of his eyes, but he kept his gaze locked firmly on the glowing Ferris Wheel slowly turning in front of him. It had been pure luck that bumped him into Tōshirō in Nimbasa City, and after having a while to think over his budding feelings for the strange (practically a) stranger, Ichigo had decided that he needed more time to think everything over.

And then, somehow, they ended up here, by the couple's Ferris Wheel, with Ichigo's newly caught Sandile stuck in one of the red pods, his long sandy nose pressed up against the window and smearing dirty marks down the glass in desperation to get out.

"Because you're amazing?" Ichigo replied lamely, and Tōshirō snorted. "And anyway, the little girl in the pod with him gonna's think he's wild, and then I'll never get him back."

White flip-flop flapped onto the stony ground in annoyance. "So how do I come into this?"

Ichigo shot the teen a bright smile, hoping to melt his icy heart. "Cause she's more likely to give him to you then me."

Thin white eyebrows shot up into Tōshirō's hairline, and Ichigo hoped that his sweet words had worked their magic cause the carriage had nearly made a full turn around the axis.

"And _why_ is she more likely to give Sandile to me? You're friendlier looking then me."

Ah well, Ichigo thought, preparing himself for the final ditch attempt; "Cause you're cute?"

It was clear that Tōshirō wasn't impressed.

* * *

><p><strong>6. Mistralton City - <em>"Strewn with Windblown Leaves"<em>**

Skyla was nice, if not a little bit chatty. She hadn't stood a chance against the combined power of Zebstrika and Krokorok, but a sore loser she was not; Ichigo had made an off-hand comment about the airport in Mistralton city at some point during their match, and as an extra 'prize' for beating her and gaining the Jet badge, she offered to show him around.

To be honest, he couldn't exactly say no - she was a tad forward in _everything_, from her battle techniques to her breasts.

Not that Ichigo had been looking, of course.

The runway itself was monster-sized, and Ichigo must have looked the part gaping and gasping in all the right places as the city's Gym Leader showed him around the cargo bay and allowed him up close and personal to one of the two cargo jets currently resting in the hanger.

"Can it carry people?" he asked, running his hands along the silver of one of the wings. "I mean - I know the bigger planes carry cargo but - "

Skyla looked indecisive, her magenta hair swaying side to side as she bobbed her head in thought. "The jets_ can_ carry people," she said slowly, as if admitting a great secret. "But usually, no. These two jets are far too small to make it to places like Kanto and Sinnoh, though."

He hadn't been interested in making it that far that plane, but the information was nice to know, he supposed.

"You could use the jets for tourism," he muttered, wondering if the young woman would be offended by the idea. When she did nothing but look curiously at him, he hesitantly continued, "You know, show people the sites from the sky..."

"People use Pokemon for that," Skyla replied, frowning and shaking her head.

"Not everyone," corrected Ichigo, speaking from experience. "I don't have a Pokemon that can fly - probably should catch one, mind, and then there's people who aren't trainers..."

He trailed off, hoping that she would pick up the end of his sentence.

After a moment she did start to talk, but it wasn't quite what Ichigo had expected; "You're gay aren't you?" she asked, a grin spreading across her face, and Ichigo flushed bright red in a matter of seconds. "You are!" she cried, clapping her hands together in a way that Ichigo had only seen Yuzu do. "That is so adorable."

Brain = fried.

"W - what?" the 'gay' teenager spluttered, trying to think back to what could have led her to such conclusions. "I don't - "

She gave a little girly gasp, covering her mouth with her bright blue gloves. "Oh you poor thing! Has the realization not come to you yet?"

_'Oh you poor thing'_... What was he, five?

"Don't worry, don't worry," continued the Leader, nodding. "I'm here to help you - who's the lucky guy then?"

Ichigo was sure that sinking into the hanger floor wasn't possible, so he settled for just sitting beside the jet instead, staring up at the awaiting girl. "What made you think I was gay?" he finally asked, ignoring her question. "What did I possibly - ?"

She cut him off with a knowing smile. "Well, for one, you haven't stared at my breasts all day, which I do appreciate, don't get me wrong, but you act just like somebody I know, and he's _definitely_ gay. Mind, I had to break it to him too."

Mouth agape, Ichigo suddenly had a feeling that he knew where this was heading. "It - the guy - he didn't happen to have white hair did he?"

She actually looked surprised, as if she could never imagine how small the world actually was. "Yes!" she cried, eyes lighting up. "And teal eyes - he's practically my brother, he loves to fly, which is nice, I suppose, cause my sister Rangiku doesn't and the sky gets kinda lonely..."

Burying his face in his hands, Ichigo groaned.

_Mother fucking hell. Holy mother fucking hell._

* * *

><p><strong>5<em>. <em>Icirrus City_** -** "_Sky Glittering with Flowers of Snow"__**

"Somehow," Ichigo said, biting his lip during the pause of his sentence. "I don't think that bridge is meant to be there."

He had travelled all the way to Icirrus City to not only battle the Gym Leader (Bryce-something-or-other), but to check out the old Dragonspiral Tower where a legendary Pokemon had supposedly been sealed some thousands of years ago. Ruins and destruction he had expected, but a blatantly man-made steel black bridge connecting the shore to the crumbling hole in the side of the tower's wall was most certainly _not_ in the brochure.

Tōshirō made a quiet noise of agreement from beside him, his right hand already fiddling with one of the pokeballs that he had dug out from his bag.

Ichigo smiled sadly, the sinking feeling in his stomach dropping all the way to his feet at the look on his companion's face. "You wanna go check it out then?"

They had met here by chance, like _every_ meeting they had ever had, but now it seemed they were actually going to do something other than banter and trade distant looks - it was, if you believed in the stuff, almost like Fate kept pairing them together.

A moment's pause; "Yes." A firm, strong voice; Ichigo was quite surprised. "Whoever damaged the tower won't escape, I promise you."

"Don't worry about it Tōshirō, you don't have to promise anything to me - I trust you."

The double meaning to that sentence was not lost on either of them, but neither of them mentioned it; Tōshirō nodded and released the Pokemon from the pokeball in his hand. This time it wasn't the Braviary, which Ichigo was silently glad for (Braviary was the only one of Tōshirō's Pokemon that he actually knew about, and he was curious), and instead appeared a Mienshao, already hyped up and prepared for orders.

"I would suggest you do the same," said the shorter male, indicating to his Pokemon. "Best to be safe."

He had a valid point, and so Ichigo unclipped Musharna's pokeball from his belt and let her out. She uncurled from a ball and floated over so that she was hovering over him; thankfully not in his face like she normally was - obviously she understood the gravity of the situation too.

"Find yourself a Moon stone?" Tōshirō asked lightly, though the answer was clear; Munna only evolved to Musharna with a Moon stone, and considering the evolution was what he had...

"Uh-huh," Ichigo answered pointlessly, rubbing the back of his hand up against Musharna's purple skin. "It didn't quell her obsession with me though, which is a shame."

The Mienshao cocked it's head in interest, and Tōshirō rolled his eyes. "_Someone_ has to be all over you," he said coldly, glancing at the psychic Pokemon above Ichigo's head. "But she clashes with your hair - "

"Are you suggesting I find myself another girlfriend?" the ginger laughed, rather surprised with what was coming out of the other's mouth. (Jokes? Tōshirō could _joke_?)

"No," Tōshirō said quickly, and Ichigo wasn't sure if he was still being sarcastic. "I was suggesting that you paint your Musharna white, it would be a better - "

And then he realized what he was saying, shut his mouth with a 'click' and marched across the bridge and into Dragonspiral tower without a single glance back at the gaping teenager behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>4. Lacunosa Town - <em>"Methodical and Orderly"<em>**

Something had sparked between them in Icirrus, and for the first time since meeting each other in Striaton, they decided to put aside some time to get together by _their own_ plans. Arranging the - er - arrangements had been rather awkward, but after ten minutes of nothing but snappy comments and sarcastic jokes, Ichigo and Tōshirō finally had a date, a time, and a place in which they would meet again.

(Like, yeah, it was almost an _actual date_)

And those plans were the reason Ichigo was currently stirring a cup of tea with a small silver spoon and staring out of the window of a cosy cafe in the middle of Lacunosa Town. The two seater table he was sat at was half empty, if you could say that a table is 'empty', but he wasn't in a worry - they had agreed to meet at eleven, and at the moment it was ten to, so Tōshirō wasn't late.

Deciding that his tea had been stirred enough, Ichigo placed the spoon down and lifted the cup, blowing gently into the soft brown liquid before taking a hesitant sip. He gasped and recoiled when it burnt his tongue, and the entrance doorbell chimed, signifying somebody's arrival. Cursing the tea he put it down, biting his lips as if the action would help his throbbing tongue, and the chair opposite was pulled across the floor as Tōshirō took a seat.

"Tea's generally hot when you first make it," was the first thing the more experienced trainer said, taking his bag off and placing it by his feet.

Ichigo scowled. "You wouldn't believe how many times that's been said to me," he mumbled, and Tōshirō gave a ghost of a smile.

"Then surely you would have learned to let it cool down?"

"Yeah, well," said Ichigo as one of the waiters came over, a red tinge lighting his cheeks. "You would have thought so."

The tall man who had skin so pale that he could possibly have been a vampire smiled at them both as he found a pen and a small paper notepad, before widening his smile into a beaming grin when he turned to Tōshirō. "Ah, Tōshirō, it's been a while."

Ichigo hid his surprise for the time being.

"That it has," agreed the winter-born teenager, sounding far older than his young sixteen years of age. "Do you still have my usual?"

The waiter pulled a face as if to say 'are you joking? Of course I do!' but settled for just saying simply, "Green tea with chocolate waffles?" but he sounded so confident in his answer that there was probably no reason to even ask for clarification.

Tōshirō nodded to the man, and then looked over at his 'date'. "Have you already ordered something?"

Shaking his head, Ichigo replied, "No, but I'm okay thanks."

The waiter seemed to take this as a dismissal and walked away with a final nod to Tōshirō. Tōshirō, in turn, flushed a light pink and watched Ichigo attempt to take another sip of his tea in silence.

"So you come here often?" asked Ichigo after the tea beat him once again.

"Yes," Tōshirō said shortly, and then when he realized how rude that answer was, he elaborated to try and make an effort at conversation, "I - well - I actually live here, in Lacunosa."

Now _why_ was the sunny haired teen surprised at this revelation? "Oh," he said lamely, and Tōshirō actually _fucking winced_. "Well, that's a bit... Um... That's nice to know?"

(Ignore that '**_pang_**' - it was just his heart bursting into tears)

Tōshirō sighed deeply and shook his head; Ichigo could image a thundercloud of negative thoughts being brushed away. "You're hopeless Kurosaki, I don't even know why I bother - "

_That_ sounded like something someone would say before they _dumped you._

Afraid of this, Ichigo made a snap decision and reached across the table, grasping Tōshirō's wrist before he moved it away. "No, wait," he said hastily, admittedly feeling slightly bad at the look of uncertainly and discomfort that flashed across the other's face. "I'm an idiot, don't leave."

Tōshirō remained seated, but nonetheless awkward.

"Alright," he said, feeling Ichigo's grip on him slacken. "Alright, I'll stay Kurosaki, I'll stay."

* * *

><p><strong>3. Undella Town - <em>"A Town of Rippling Waves"<em>**

If he hadn't been in the process of drowning, Ichigo probably would have laughed at the irony of dying like this.

Undella Town was supposed to be a beach-side vacation location, and he guessed for most people it was - it had been for him too, at the beginning, because Pokemon training is stressful and both he and his team needed a break, but somehow - _somehow_ it was always _him_ - a wild Octillery thought it would be funny to rile up Audino while Ichigo wasn't looking. A panicked pink Pokemon and a terrified spray of sticky black ink later, Audino was fine and Ichigo found himself sinking; his bag, his pokeballs, and all of his swimming skills (not that he really had any in the first place) left behind on the calm sandy shores of the bay.

He would have gone into the _finer_ details as to why he was currently _drowning_, but alas, _he was drowning_, and there were more important things on his mind at the time - like, um, **_drowning__?_**

He was pretty sure he was going to die.

(Oh why oh why did he not have a Pokemon that could swim? (Or fly, for that matter - fucking hell his team was useless))

Everything was blurry.

(His numb fingers were _not_ the last thing he wanted to see)

His chest hurt - maybe he should try breathing?

Okay, he wasn't thinking straight either -

(Straight, ha, why does that make him think of Tōshirō?)

Ripples in the water - strange, almost feels like movement -

(Tōshirō would turn up at a time like this)

Something was underneath him; rocks maybe? Stones - ah, had he hit the bottom?

(Was this how his mum had felt when she had - ?)

Motion above him, a black shape. Were those flippers? A tail? What on - ?

Not that it really mattered any more.

(Vaguely he wondered if someone was calling his name)

* * *

><p><strong>2. Black City -<strong>_**"Prosperous and Vibrant"**_

"...nii? Ichi-nii? Can you hear me?"

The groan from the bed told her that he probably could, and Karin's young eyes light up and she jumped to her feet. "Wait here Ichi-nii, I'll go and tell the others!" She was gone from the room before her sentence was even finished, and as he had only caught half of it, Ichigo blinked, thoroughly confused.

Where was he?

Hurrying feet distracted him from gaining the answer, and the teenager turned his pounding head to the side to see his family and a doctor squeeze into the room; three overjoyed faces and one full of concern.

Was he in hospital?

"Onii-chan!" cried the fastest of the two sisters - the one that made it to his bed quicker. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"

Karin sat back down on her chair, and their crazy father stood behind her, arms folded.

_Oh hell,_ Ichigo thought as the doctor walked around to the other side of his bed without a word, flipping through a notepad. _I'm in trouble._

"You were very, very lucky," said the grey-haired woman, but her face contradicted the ageing colour and showed a young lady with the desire to find her place in what appeared to be the medical world (if Ichigo had guessed correctly about his current situation). "No lasting damage - you might feel a little weak for a while but that's understandable, you had required CPR after all."

CPR? Fuck, had he stopped breathing?

"When can he come home?" asked Isshin as Ichigo also asked, "What happened?" and the female doctor glanced at them both before deciding on who to answer first.

"You almost drowned in Undella Bay, Mr. Kurosaki. Thankfully a passing Pokemon trainer rescued you."

Ichigo shut his eyes, thanking his lucky stars, and Yuzu started to sob. Karin was at her side immediately, silently guiding her out of the room to calm down - Isshin watched them leave. Ichigo didn't, still wondering who exactly he was going to have to thank for saving his life.

He didn't remember much. He didn't even remember how he got into the water in the first place. Audino had been in trouble... And hadn't there been an Octillery involved? Or was it a Carracosta?

_/Motion above him, a black shape. Were those flippers? A tail?/_

A Carracosta had saved him? But…

The only person he knew who had a Carracosta was –

He smiled and opened his eyes, and his father and the doctor gave him funny looks; the latter a bit more subtly though. "Ichigo, son?" Isshin asked, sounding far more serious than he ever had in his life. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," said Ichigo, wiggling to get himself comfy under the white bed sheets. "Yeah I'm alright – give my thanks to Tōshirō would you?"

If Isshin was confused over the request, he didn't show it. Instead he nodded and motioned for the doctor to follow him out of the room, leaving Ichigo in peace with his thoughts and feelings. Once the door had clicked shut Ichigo rolled over with some discomfort, still unsure how long he had actually been unconscious, but that matter wasn't important right now – Tōshirō had saved him. Tōshirō had _been there_.

Why? Why did they keep encountering each other?

And how did Tōshirō get to him in time?

Actually, how did Tōshirō even get him to the hospital? (Where was this hospital anyway? Nobody had told him – the nearest one he could think of was in Black City, but surely Tōshirō wouldn't have travelled that whole way? Surely he would have died on the way? Stopped breathing? Gone into shock?)

And then Ichigo remembered that CPR had been performed on him, and if Tōshirō had taken him all the way to Black City to get medical attention then…

Well, he thought, face heating up in an embarrassed blush. Looks like the 'first kiss' base had been passed.

* * *

><p><strong>1. Pokemon League<strong>

"You're such a worrier Tōshirō, honestly, I'm going to be fine. You said so yourself - I'm ready for to face the Elite Four."

Three months later and here they were, standing shoulder-to-shoulder surrounded by towering stone pillars and four set of stairs, each leading to a different member of the Elite Four. Tōshirō was to remain in the main area, by the golden statue, as Ichigo faced the four strongest Pokemon trainers in Unova - not that he believed they were the strongest, having been training under the watchful of Tōshirō Hitsugaya for the past couple of months and learning first hand just how powerful the short teenager actually was - but the sentimental value of the Pokemon League was still there, and Ichigo was not going to lose.

There was no way he would lose - he was _more than_ ready for this, and anyway, he had a boyfriend to impress.

Sort of boyfriend anyway. The word hadn't actually been spoken between them, but the feelings were there, even if Tōshirō was much too shy to express them most of the time.

But that was okay. Ichigo liked a challenge.

"I can't help but worry though, Kuro - Ichigo," replied the frowning trainer, resisting the urge to chew his bottom lip. "You may have a lot of good luck, but you're a trouble magnet too - remember when you tried to catch that Bouffalant?"

Ichigo winced. He had ended up catching one of the wild beasts, but only after running from the herd screaming for his life. Yet again Tōshirō had been the one to save him - he was always there, whenever Ichigo needed him - and after the initial shock had worn off, the spiky haired male had gone mental.

Ranting Tōshirō was a scary Tōshirō.

"Yeah, right," Ichigo said dully, honestly trying to shoo the memory from his mind. "But I'll be fine, really, just you wait and see - I'll plough through these guys in no time!"

Sighing, the other shook his head. "Alright," he said. "It's not like I can stop you - I'm not _going_ to stop you, you've trained far too hard to back out now." There was a pause in which Ichigo beamed in victory. "Start with Grimsley to get him out of the way – and don't use Musharna during that fight!"

Ichigo put his hands up. "I know, I know. Dark Pokemon and Psychic Pokemon don't mix, I remember. Relax Tōshirō, honestly. Can I go now?"

The glare he received was worth it.

"Fine," huffed the shorter. "Go."

Grinning, Ichigo pulled his 'boyfriend' into a quick hug, patting his hair when he pulled away. "Wish me luck Shiro."

"Call me that again and I won't let you use my lucky charm."

Ichigo laughed, waving away the threat to the Shiny Whimsicott charm hanging off of his belt, but he made a mental note of the nickname so that he would only use it in dire times. The charm he was borrowing really was Tōshirō's lucky item - it was one of his most precious belongings actually, as he had been given it by his parents just a few days before they were killed in an accident. It was one of the only things Tōshirō had of his parents', as the rest of their stuff had been destroyed in the house fire, and he kept it close to his heart.

To make the charm even more important, Tōshirō had told Ichigo of the time when he had spent weeks in Pinwheel Forest looking for an extremely rare 'shiny' Pokemon - the shiny Whimsicott to be exact.

Had he found it? Well...

"Can I have a hug from Scott?" Ichigo asked innocently, earning himself a roll of teal eyes.

"His name isn't 'Scott', Ichigo, I don't nickname my Pokemon," Tōshirō snapped, but he retrieved the correct pokeball from his bag and released the Pokemon in question.

The oddly coloured Whimsicott literally _jumped_ at Ichigo in delight, sending them both crashing to the floor, Whimsicott squealing and Ichigo with a face full of white fur. They stayed like that for a moment, not that Ichigo exactly had a choice in the matter anyway, but Tōshirō eventually rolled his eyes and barked, "Alright, that's enough. You can continue hugging him _after_ he's beaten the Champion."

The Whimsicott obediently sprung away from the flattened trainer, landing gracefully at his partner's side. Ichigo got up groaning, and Tōshirō thought he deserved every aching bone that he had.

"You really need to stop letting him do that to you," he said, returning the Whimsicott to it's pokeball.

"But where's the fun in that?" Ichigo bantered back, smiling. "And anyway, I've got to get my daily hug from _someone_."

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Tōshirō and, in return, he got a boot up the backside and was shoved up Grimsley's set of stairs with a called, "If you don't win I'll let Beartic and Haxorus use you as a bouncy ball!"

That threat, in all honesty, got Ichigo moving.

* * *

><p><strong>End Note:<strong> Thanks for reading! Reviews are very welcome. (This was going to be short, but I guess I got a little carried away~)

Till next time,

xTKx


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